Presbyter
Saint Alexander was born in 1893 in the village of Ozerovo, Tikhvin district of Novgorod province, in the family of priest Nikolai Sokolov. In 1915, he graduated from the Novgorod Theological Seminary and became a psalmist in the church of the village of Ershova. In 1916, he was ordained as a deacon, and a year later — as a priest to the church of the village of Ozerovo. In 1924, Fr. Alexander was transferred to the church of the village of Ershova, where he served despite the persecutions against the Russian Orthodox Church. In 1935, he was arrested and accused of speculation but was acquitted. In 1937, Fr. Alexander was arrested again and sentenced to execution, which was carried out on August 29. He was canonized among the ranks of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia in 2000.
Twenty years later, his wife, Elizabeth, wrote a petition to the Soviet authorities for the rehabilitation of her husband, emphasizing his innocence and virtuous life. In 1957, the priest was rehabilitated.
